Five Different Lives
by Vulpixi Misa
Summary: ..Ike x Red.. ..AU.. ..One-Shots.. I wish I could have five different lives! Then I could have been born in five different towns, and eaten five lifetimes worth of food and had five different careers and... fallen in love with the same person, five times.
1. Smashville University

So, hey guys, it's me again, Vulpixi Misa. (Also self-proclaimed Queen of Ike x Red, which I totally stole the idea from Midnight, but, I'm not going to be using that alias anyway, so, nevermind.) And judging by that previous sentence, you can already tell what is in store for this fic. Yup! More Ike x Red! So... Yeah.

This will be a collection of one-shots, all will be AUs, and there will be a total of five of them. Why five? Well, if you haven't already guessed from the summary, well... Yeah, you guys figure it out. If you already know, good for you! I'm actually not a huge Bleach fan, but I do support that pairing. I thought that was one of the most romantic lines I have ever heard, even though I haven't been keeping up to date with that series. I only saw that certain episode because of certain screencaps that made me go "Woah! Did that really happen?!" and then, yeah. Those that don't watch anime or get what I'm saying, never mind.

So! Onward to the first of five fics!

* * *

"Please?!"

"You want me to what?" Red slammed his orange juice on the table and stared wide eyed at his sister.

"Just do my project for me? It's really simple, and you're already pretty good with my camera. I know you'll have fun with it. You like taking pictures, right?"

"Yeah yeah, I got that part, but repeat the second part."

Leaf laughed nervously and muttered the rest of her request lowly that Red barely heard it again.

"No."

"But Red! Please? I'm in real trouble if I don't get either of these projects done." She pleaded, even attempting her puppy eyes.

"The project, yes, I can do that. Dressing up as you so you can lie to your partner, no."

"But why?" His sister whined. "I'm not asking you to wear a dress, just... some extensions and maybe a cute blouse?"

Her brother glared back, his eyebrows in a straight line and unwavering.

"Please Red? I'm really desperate here! My Financial project is due the day after tomorrow and my group is really struggling to finish it."

"Why can't I just explain to your partner that you're too busy to do it and I'm just taking your place?"

Leaf actually looked like she was contemplating the idea, which made Red a little hopeful. His face fell when he heard her say, "Nope."

"The whole reason I want you to dress up is so that my partner doesn't know that I'm skipping out on him." She clapped her hands together. "Please Red? For your caring, fun and loving older sister?"

"Ugh…" The things he does for love. "You owe me big time."

Leaf squealed and jumped her brother. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best brother ever!"

The boy sighed. What did he get himself into?

* * *

Red grimaced. Here he was, dressed in tight skinny jeans, a loose fitting white top with butterflies embroidery and extensions that made his brown hair look much longer and resembling his sister even more. He would have added the blue pins but he decided against it and just donned his sister's trademark hat. Red sighed out and smoothed out the wrinkles of the white shirt. With the camera case on his left shoulder and one of his sister's bags on his other, he stepped up to the door mat and opened the door.

"Hi." He greeted with a smile, the strawberry lip gloss tingling on his lips.

The blue haired teen waiting on the other side looked up at the brunette in surprise. Blinking away the confusion, the teen graced him with a smile.

"Hey, ready to go?"

"Sure thing." Red squeaked in embarrassment by the disarming smile and closed the door behind him. He took one last look at the house and saw his sister peaking out behind the window curtains. She waved and stuck a thumbs-up at him. He rolled his eyes in return and shrugged the camera case higher on his shoulder.

* * *

"So we're taking pictures of things downtown?" Red asked the partner that walked beside him.

"Yeah, we have to be within ten feet of the object."

"All man-made items, right?"

The partner nodded again, pulling out a packet of papers to fill out certain procedures.

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad." Red laughed nervously. He glanced at the other teen, who seemed too indulged in paper work to answer his petty comment.

"Um… Ike?" He questioned to confirm his name. Red has seen him before on campus, but he never knew his name and only recognized his face. Leaf wasn't entirely familiar with him either, so it wasn't too difficult to play her part to a stranger.

"Yes?"

"Ah… Um, how about that piece of… wire?" He fumbled for a response and pointed to a broken fence that has seen better days.

"Hm, looks good." Ike scribbled something on the packet again. "You can take the picture, since you have your camera with you. We can switch later, if that's okay with you."

"S-sure." Red was so glad that his sister had taught him the mechanics to her fancy camera.

* * *

"Well, that's the last one on the list." Red let out huff of relief and filled out the last section of the paper work.

The two undergraduates worked their way around the area for 50 objects from the city located close to their campus. Ike had taken the last 25 pictures while Red was doing the paper work for each item. The partners didn't talk much and only kept conversation to a minimum, only speaking of the project. That was good news for Red because he wasn't sure he pulled off a good imitation of Leaf anyway.

"Hey, well look who it is." A voice laced in mockery called out.

Both Ike and Red looked up to the source of the voice that seemed to be addressing them. A group of teens that looked more like a bunch of gang members drew close to the two. They surrounded the pair, blocking them off from any sort of escape.

"Why hello Miss Journalist. Looking for more lies to publish?" A teen with light grey hair swept back, who posed as the leader of the group, snarled at the boy who was supposed to be Leaf.

"Shut it Wolf, my stories are not lies." Red snapped back. He kept track of his sister's articles, and he knew that she only published stories and articles that had plenty of valid information. She took her job as the college newspaper's journalist quite seriously.

Wolf gave the brunette a toothy grin. "Oh really? So are you telling me that you really witnessed my friend Leon beat up that freshman with your own eyes?"

As a sophomore, Red remembered quite well how difficult it was to start out in college. There were so many things to get used to, socially and academically. Freshman Friday, something he thought only happened in high school, is apparently also a tradition in Smashville University. He personally has not witnessed any beatings but some of his younger friends have.

"I've got reliable sources." The brunette growled.

"Yeah, you also got my friend in trouble with the UP. Now I'm missing my VP because of you Miss Goody-Two Snitch." Wolf spat out.

"Well maybe—" Red was about to counter but was held back by a hand on his shoulder.

"Leave her alone, she hasn't done anything wrong."

"And who are you supposed to be?"

Ike glared at Wolf. He also scanned the rest of the group that crowded around him.

"Ike Greil, and I don't like how you're accusing my partner of posting slander when she was only doing the right thing."

"Keep out of this pretty-boy, this is none of your business." Wolf snarled, then swung a fist at the blue haired teen, cuffing Ike on the jaw.

"Ike!" Red gasped. He grabbed Ike's arm, holding up his partner as he tried to recover from the hit.

"Stay behind me." Ike whispered to him, grabbing the brunette and shoving him out of range. His gaze went back to the leader of the gang, who looked back at him with a cocky smirk.

"What's the matter, scared?" Wolf taunted.

"Pit Icarus." Ike said, confusing everyone at the vicinity of his speech.

"What?" The grey haired teen actually asked.

"You don't remember the name of the freshman you and your friends nearly killed?" Ike kept his eyes on Wolf. He cracked his knuckles.

"Tch, why should I? Do you take the names of all the little bugs you squish? I don't think so!" Wolf flashed his teeth and for a moment, they looked like fangs. "What, you gonna take revenge?"

Ike's blue eyes narrowed. "You better prepare yourself." He muttered and almost like a blur, he advanced on the leader and punched his target in the gut.

Red gaped at the feat that was Ike taking down each member one by one. One of the groupies jumped him from behind but the blue haired teen managed to throw them off, knocking someone else out with the body. Punches and elbows were thrown around and bodies flew in every direction. It was almost comical how different in strength the groups of druggies were compared to Ike.

Eventually, Wolf decided it was not worth it to continue, and he called for his people to retreat. He took one more glance back at the two.

"You two better watch your backs, I won't forgive you the next time I see either of you on my turf." He spat on the ground and his gang disappeared down the block.

When he was sure it was safe, Red ran up to Ike, who stood tall but was panting from exhaustion. The brunette put a hand on the other's shoulder to draw his attention. The furious expression on Ike's face immediately changed back to his calm façade.

"Ike, are you okay? Did they hurt you too bad?" Red bit his lip when he saw that the other teen had several cuts on his face.

"No, I'm fine." He paused, wiping away the sweat on his forehead. "Actually, I'm quite hungry." He laughed a little.

Red blinked. This man just had a tussle with a gang and then addressed his hunger like nothing had just happened. Who was this guy?

* * *

So the two ended up in a booth of a little café located somewhere downtown after Ike cleaned up the few tiny wounds. Apparently they served really good appetizers that Ike liked so much. They seated themselves and the waitress took down their orders after she came back with their drinks.

When she left, Red sat stiffly with his sister's bag and camera case on the side of his seat. His eyes were glued to the cup of mocha he had asked for. Maybe he should start a conversation? He didn't know what to say in a situation like this. If it had been anyone else, he might have even thought it was something like a date.

Ike seemed not to be nervous at all and took his time adding sugar and cream to his coffee. He stirred his drink so casually and he was oblivious to Red's tense stature that it made Red feel even more awkward.

"You know, I really liked that paper you wrote." Ike brought up suddenly.

"Eh?" Red looked up from his slowly cooling cup of mocha.

"We had composition class together last term. I'm not sure if you remembered, or if you even knew who I was."

"Ah… Yeah, that class… was fun. "

In all honesty, Red had no idea if Leaf had even taken an English class her previous term. Well, she was a Journalist major, she should be required to take some sort of writing class.

"It…" Ike laughed sheepishly. "Well, this is going to sound corny, but your paper really moved me." He gave the brunette a sincere smile.

Red swallowed nervously. Darn it Leaf, you're so going to owe me big time for this! His conscience was already deep in a puddle of guilt and confusion, but seeing Ike smile so truthfully and pouring his heart out to the wrong person, Red might as well just confess to the whole ploy to prevent any further lies.

"You sound like you had a really rough time. Being separated from your sibling must have been difficult."

The brunette blinked. Why did this sound so familiar? He vaguely remembered writing his own paper on something of the topic of life changing situations. He wrote about how he and his sister were separated from each other when their parents decided they were not good enough for the other. It was only by chance that the two siblings enrolled to the same college and were then reunited. Did Leaf also write a paper like his?

"But, I'm really glad you're able to see your sister again. You must really love her."

"Yeah…" Red whispered with a small smile on his lips as he recalled all of Leaf's antics before and after the separation.

His eyes widened at the realization and then he snapped his jaw shut. "You… you must be mistaken, I only have one brother."

Ike tilted his head to the side curiously. He had a small smirk on his lips as his eyes glued themselves on Red's slowly fading smile.

"Well, I only assumed she is your sister. I don't know what other reason you would have to dress up as her and help her on her project. Unless it's some sort of weird kink, but, hey, I'm not going to pry."

Red could only gape as the teen across from his calmly took a sip of his coffee.

"H-how did you…"

"Well, it was kind of obvious. Even with the feminine clothing you still had the posture of a guy."

The brunette held his hand to cover his face. He messed up, big time. It was bad idea, he knew it from the start.

"I'm sorry," Red started. "for lying to you. She's just really busy this week, and she didn't want to blow you off." Then he looked directly at Ike. "And no, this is not a secret kink, please don't tell anyone?" He pleaded the last part in a squeak.

Ike chuckled. "Don't worry about it, I knew it was you from the start. Your sister must be very trusting in you, to let you borrow her identity like that. You're also quite good at using the camera." He paused. "And there's no reason to tell anyone about this. It'll be a secret between friends."

"Ah, thank you." Red sighed with relief. Then Ike's last sentence echoed in his mind. Had he really just called them friends?

"Did you… really mean what you said?" The brunette asked after the waitress came around to check on them.

"Hm?" Ike asked with his fork in his mouth and already lost in his food.

"About my paper." Red said while poking at his cake. "How did it 'move' you? I'm not _that_ great of a writer."

"Well, I have a sister of my own. It just reminded me of her." The other confessed. "We're quite close. Well, we had to be. I've been taking care of her ever since our parents died."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay. It's been a while, you just have to get used to it. I've lived long enough to realize that. Life goes on."

Red was quiet. This guy, he thought, he's been through a lot. And even though Ike was still a stranger to him, Red didn't mind getting to know him a little bit more. The fork in his hand poked at the brown sponge cake. He smiled inwardly. Maybe, this was a good idea after all. He made a new friend.

* * *

"So, how did it go?"

Red shut the door behind him. His sister was already by the entrance, waiting for her brother's return.

"It was pretty good." He shrugged, handing over the bag and camera case.

"Did you enjoy your date?" Leaf asked slyly.

"Ye- What?"

She giggled beneath her hand. "I'm joking, sheesh. But thanks a lot Red, I really appreciate you doing this for me. We finished our Finance project and it looked pretty cool. Just say the word bro, and I'll repay the favor anytime."

"It's fine, forget about it, you don't need to pay me back." Red said while taking the extensions off one at a time.

"Eh? Why the sudden change in attitude Red? Did you actually enjoy being me?" Leaf asked, a smile on her lips.

A knock on the door interrupted Red's upcoming answer. The siblings looked at the door then at each other before the brother went to open it.

"Ike! What are you doing here?" Red asked, slightly pleased at the idea that he might even be here for him.

The blue haired teen blinked, donning the same surprised look he had hours ago when they were leaving in the morning. He snapped out of it once again and put on a neutral expression.

"Hey. Um, I just wanted to ask your sister about the write up for the project, if you don't mind?"

The boy's face fell, but he tried not to show it. Oh right, they technically never met. Leaf came to the door with a folder of papers that Red had written up before. The younger brother stood to the side and watched the two do their business with bored eyes.

"And, tell Red I'll see him around." Ike said as he waved goodbye to the siblings.

Leaf nodded. She paused and watched her partner leave their porch when Ike's words hit her. Swerving to her brother, she looked more surprised than angry.

"What was that all about?!"

"W-what?" Red asked, holding his hands out in defense.

"He knew your name!" She exclaimed and Red could see the gears turning in her head. "What were you two doing all afternoon?"

"Nothing! We didn't do anything!" He pleaded his innocence. Though in the back of his mind, Red replayed the memory of today again and he decided "Nah, she doesn't need to know."

* * *

First one down, four more to go! I already have plots for three of them, though it's kinda cheating, but, hey, this is my fic, I can do whatever I want.

So, yeah, first AU is… College life! Actually, some of it is based off my own experience with friends and all. None of the gangs, and beating ups or anything like that, just the photography project my friend had and my other friend falling in love with the boy in her English class. (Don't tell anyone I'm posting her secret on the internet.)

If it's too friendshippy, then, too bad. I seem to like writing my fics like that, you know, subtle and not full blown "ZOMGOSH! I LUB JOO!" followed by passionate making out. And it leaves more room for imagination and cute stuff. It's also difficult to write a pairing when they don't really know each other yet. The other AUs will most likely be like that too, where Ike and Red just meet but they feel a connection. And if it sounds really bad and left off in the middle, then... that's just me trying to sound witty and totally failing at it. Go me!

Leaf and Red as twins/siblings is something I like to do. I'm probably going to run with that for the rest of… of my writings.

Wolf as a bad guy? Well, I know he's not always a bad guy, I just like picking on him, because his bad guy-ness is not apparent as Bowser, Ganondorf's or Wario's. I rather like Bowser, and picking on Ganondorf or Wario is a little too cliched. ...Also, I'm not a huge fan of Wolf. (koff I'm a FalFox fan but that's not entirely relevant. koff)

Sorry if anyone noticed the weird change in mood from the first few scenes then to the cafe. I actually started writing from the cafe part, and then... went back up, then down, then the middle, then back up again. ...Yeah, it's... something I shouldn't have done. And all those tense changes and weird stuff. ...Yeah, this hasn't been beta'd because I'm stubborn and I don't want to regret writing and putting this up, so, I put it up right away before I chicken out on it.

And, any ideas for the last AU might help! I always like feedback!


	2. His Dreams

Story number 2! Who's amazed by how quickly I updated? *raises hand* I'm on a roll, though the roll is slowly turning stale, so I'm not sure when the next one will be getting in. Ah well, enjoy!

Also, this is no way related to the first one shot. All other fics will be separate stories. In this one, Red is still in _high school_. Blech. So… he's relatively younger?

Again, no beta, because I'm starting not to like people taking their time to correct my petty mistakes. I mean, if it is _my_ writing, shouldn't it include my mistakes and all? I mean, that's what makes it _mine_ doesn't it? Eventually, I will have to learn to stop making these mistakes, but, yeah, not now.

* * *

Hey Red!

Happy Birthday! Or… belated birthday? Early birthday? Yeah, well, I'm not sure when you're getting this, but enjoy it anyway! I know you've been missing me, and this isn't much, but I found it in some cool antique shop. The quality was too amazing for words, it looks almost real! I mean, if he wasn't five inches tall, but, whatever. I know how you've been talking to Char, Ivy and Squirt ever since I left (blame mom, she snitched on you) so I got this guy for you to talk to. …Yeah yeah, it's not any better than a lizard, a plant and a turtle, but at least he has a face and a full human anatomy. Imagine all the cool conversations you'll have with this guy! He looks like he has a story.

Well, happy birthday once again Red! I hope you're not missing me too much! See you in a year!

From your awesome sister, Leaf.

A young boy in his teen years with light brown hair and shining hazel eyes put down the letter he had just been reading. Red picked up the package that had been shipped from the boarding school Leaf attended half way across Hoenn. Peering inside, the brunette wasn't quite sure what to expect, but the thing he pulled out was not exactly what he imagined.

A plastic figurine of a warrior wielding a bright golden sword stood at five inches on a circular platform. The platform was also gold in color and it looked to have a cross (or an X?) embedded across the surface. As for the figurine, the man had spikey, dark blue hair held by a black (dark green, if you looked close enough) bandana. He was dressed in a blue tunic, with gold borders and a scarlet undershirt. On his shoulders draped a long tattered cape (red on the outside but tan on the inside). He even had tiny trinkets such as a belt that held his tunic together and a piece of armor attached to his shoulder and across his chest. The golden blade did not appear as sharp as Red would imagine a sword to be. Perhaps it wasn't for slaying things? The sword was held by a pair of gloved hands, which were also wrapped in bandages as the arms went up the tattered blue sleeve. The white pants were probably the most plain thing on the figurine because even his dark brown boots had intricate laces and folds on it.

Red couldn't believe how detailed such a figurine was. He held the object by the base in his palms and just marveled at it.

"How Leaf managed to find something like this, I do not know." He muttered to himself. "…But then again, she always had a knack for getting the things she wanted."

The brunette ran a finger across the figurine's cape. It was solid, as plastic should be, but he could feel every single curve and wrinkle on the supposed clothe. Flipping the figurine over, he looked at the bottom of the base.

"What? There's no copyright mark?"

Who could have created such a beautiful thing and not have put their name on it? Well, that immediately ruled out the option of it being a collector's figurine of some fandom that Red has yet to hear about. But it was definitely odd that there was no insignia on the object. Maybe the cross was some sort of initial for the artist?

Staring at the figurine once more, Red smiled. Even though this was an odd birthday present, he was sure to treasure it. He placed the figure on his desk, located next to his pencils and table lamp.

"Oh, Ivy, how are you? You look like you need some water." The boy spoke to the plant that grew on his window sill located right next to his desk. He brought a glass of water and sprinkled it into the pot.

"What do you think of the new guy? He's a kinda cool looking isn't he?" Red asked the plant after the cup was emptied of its contents.

He pulled up a chair and sat upon it, producing a sheet of paper from a drawer to start his response to his sister's letter. Sure, there were things such as electronic mail and instant messaging, but the two siblings preferred the old fashioned way of snail mail communication. It was always exciting to receive packages or paper letters since getting them were pretty rare these days. Midway through the letter, Red sat up and turned around.

"Char, I can hear you from here."

The long tailed lizard resting in his tank picked his head up to stare lethargically at his master. The cricket half hanging out of his mouth stopped struggling, as if it too was in trouble with the master. Char opened his mouth to gobble the rest of the insect in his mouth.

Red rolled his eyes and then resumed his letter.

"Hope to hear from you soon, your brother, Red." He signed his name. "PS, thanks again for the gift, I think I'll name him-" Red picked up his pen from the paper and stared at the antique sitting on his desk.

"He looks like… Anton?" The brunette laughed. "No no. Ulric? Geoffrey?" He thought for a while before deciding on his favorite.

"Ike. His name is Ike."

* * *

"So you named the thing Ike?"

"Yeah, it just seemed to really fit."

"… It doesn't seem too… medieval-like. Why didn't you name him something like… Arthur or something? King Arthur and his knights at the round table."

"I don't know. I did think of those kinds of names, but none really matched him. A cool guy doesn't need a long-ass name to be cool. Instead, he'll just be, Ike."

"Hehe, you could have named him after me if you wanted. I'm a cool guy."

Red rolled his eyes and smacked his friend on the shoulder. "I already have one Pit, I don't think I need another. Besides, he looks nothing like a Pit."

The boy Red's age snorted. He had brown hair, a few shades darker than Red's, and blue eyes that resembled a clear sky. He currently sat in Red's room, his legs dangling off the side the side of his friend's fluffy bed.

"I don't know how things can look like a name. Aren't they supposed to be named first, then associated with the name and not the other way around?"

"You think what you want, his name is Ike." Red smiled proudly as he picked up the figure like it was a trophy.

Pit snatched the object out of his hand and turned it sideways, then upside down.

"Careful with him Pit! He's precious!" Red panicked, jumping out of his chair to get his gift back from his friend.

Pit held it out of his reach and continued to juggle the figurine. He fell backwards onto the mattress as he held "Ike" in the air.

"He's kinda hot, don't you think?"

"What?" Red asked after rescuing Ike from his friend's clutches. He checked the figurine for any scratches or signs of damage.

"You know, good looking. I bet a lot of girls would totally fall for him if he was real."

Pit looked over to where his friend towered over him and grinned cheekily at the look he was receiving. He shrugged complacently and picked up a Pikachu plush that sat next to Red's pillow and chucked it at his friend, aiming for the face. The plush bounced off the side of Red's head, ruffling his hair but did not disturb the glare that continued to direct itself at Pit.

"You're an idiot. Why the hell would you think of something like that?"

"Well, have you seen his face? He looks like… something out of those mangas that Ness reads. I bet he'd be categorized as those… Uh…" Pit sat up and struggled to find the right word. "Bi… binjis? Bishies! Yeah, you know, those hot guys that people like to slash with other hot guys."

The glare did not waver. "Honestly Pit, you're an idiot." Red rolled his eyes and set the gift back on his desk. "Leave Ike out of this, he has nothing to do with those comics that Dawn and her friends read." He shuddered inwardly, remembering the things that his female classmates would show him, just to see his perturbed reaction.

"Sheesh. A little touchy aren't we?" The friend snickered, dodging the Pikachu plush that was thrown back at him after Red picked it off the floor.

"Well, he's not like them, okay? He's different."

"Sure sure, whatever you say Red." Pit rolled his eyes. "Being defensive over an imaginary hot guy is not very like you though."

This time, Pit wasn't able to dodge the pink puffball plush that was chucked at him. The plush connected with his face and rebounded into his lap. The circular blue eyes on the cushion stared happily back, as if laughing at him.

"Leave me alone, don't we have a project we should be working on?" Red huffed.

"Sure sure, but hey, you started it." Pit tossed the pink plush to the side of the bed and got up to help his friend.

* * *

"He takes family and friendship very seriously. Even though he doesn't talk a lot, he will say the right things when the time comes to it."

Red looked away from his laptop screen, directing his gaze to the warrior standing next to his lamp. He must admit, he rather liked Ike's blue eyes. It gave him some sort of comfort looking into them, even if they were just painted on and didn't look back at him. Focusing on the face, the brunette took in every detail of the figurine. The sharp nose, the tiny mouth that is fixed to a permanent frown, the way his dark blue hair would fall over his eyes if you looked at it in a different angle. Red couldn't help but think that Pit might have been right about his trophy. Ike did have a handsome face. He shook his head to clear the weird thoughts and turned back to the screen.

"Although his words might be sharp, his actions are always gentle and meaningful. Passionate, might describe him best. "

A splash was heard from the bowl located next to Char's glass tank. Red barely looked over his shoulder, he saw his slider turtle peaking a head out of the bowl. He waved at the turtle, who seemed to look past him. Red tilted his head to the side, the turtle imitated him. He laughed and turned back to his laptop screen.

"As a man, he has his honor and pride but he's willing to risk it for the ones he loves."

The ones he loves huh, Red thought to himself as his eyes went back to Ike. His lips curled upward at the thought.

* * *

"WHAT?!"

Pit flinched at the sound of his friend's voice piercing his ear drums. "God Red, quiet down a bit, it's not that big a deal…"

"But, you're …" Red trailed off as he gave his friend the saddest eyes he can. "How can you betray me like that?"

Pit put a palm over his forehead. "Look, I know we made a promise to go to the same college together, but this is a chance of a life time! How can I not take the opportunity to-"

"Get yourself killed? The air force isn't all about adventure and discovery like those posters say you know. They just want recruits so they take out all the dangerous information on the ads."

"I know, I know! It's about defending our country and stuff like that, but I've always wanted to fly, and this could be it!"

"You couldn't have taken an aviator's test to get a pilot license or something?"

"Well, then I would have to find a place that rents planes and stuff… Plus, I think this is a good way for me to get some discipline and get into shape. I've been slacking quite a lot ever since sophomore year."

Red was quiet. He shouldn't argue, it wouldn't be fair to Pit. It was his friend's decision after all, and he's always supportive of his friends. Even if it meant letting them go to possibly step out of his life forever.

"Fine, you do what you want Pit. You better come back alive though, or I'll hunt down your dead body and kill it again."

Pit smiled and bumped knuckles with his friend. "Sure thing, Red. I'll do my best."

* * *

The shutters were closed, the window curtains drawn shut. There was no illumination coming into his room besides the street lamp outside and the small crack under his door that seeped light from the hallway. Red laid stomach down on his bed, his face hidden in the pillow that smelled vaguely of strawberries and kiwi shampoo. The scent reminded him of his older sister.

"First Leaf… Now… Pit too?"

It was already hard to bear his sister leaving him, but his best friend was going away and his chances of returning were not incredibly high. It seemed like everyone was stepping out of his life.

Red lifted his head from the pillow, and glanced across the dark room. Even though he couldn't see, he knew Char and Squirt were asleep. His eyes went to where Ivy rested near the window. If plants could slumber, then she would have retired for the night too. He sighed. His collection of pets and plants started after Leaf transferred to a different school to further her studies and explore different places. It didn't fill the void as much but Pit was always there when he needed him. Now, with his second leg gone, how was he going to stand?

His gaze shifted from the potted plant to his desk, where the figurine should have been. The room was too dark to see, but Red's eyes searched for Ike next to his laptop. Oddly enough, he was not where he usually was. The figure seemed to have been misplaced or lost, somehow.

"Great… Ike went and left me too." The boy muttered into his pillow.

"That's not true."

Red froze. He was pretty sure he did not just imagine the voice. But, if it hadn't been a figment of his imagination, then it meant someone else was in the room with him. He wasn't sure if he preferred the first option or the second, but either way, he was too scared to find out.

A hand set itself on his left shoulder, he was pretty sure the owner felt him tense up.

"Red, calm down."

The male voice rang in Red's ear. It wasn't a voice he was familiar with. It was too deep to be Pit's voice, and his dad had a much deeper voice and was currently away on business anyway. The hand on his shoulder trailed to his back and started rubbing circles rhythmically, possibly to calm him.

"It's me, Ike."

At the mention of the name, Red's eyes widened. No, how was that possible? Ike was… Ike was a tiny figurine that was gifted to him from his sister. He was just an inanimate object with a highly fabricated past and personality from Red's imagination. The motions on his back seemed real enough and the voice was definitely not from anywhere else.

The boy snatched the appendage that rested on his back when he turned around. This seemed to have caught the owner of the limb by surprise but Red was able to get a glance at the invader. The dark blue locks held by a piece of clothe wrapped around his head and the masculine but still young face looked so familiar to him. His vision centered on the visage, and he could see the blue eyes that always seemed to calm him.

"I-Ike?"

It was still so dark in the room, but Red could see Ike's mouth turn upwards at the utter of his name. This man was indeed Ike. The Ike that Red had made up in his mind, the one he thought up a life for, the one who was supposed to be 5 inches tall and standing permanently still on the golden trophy stand.

"How is…" Red gaped, his grasp on Ike's hand slipped and landed on his side.

The warrior took a seat on the bed, his weight sinking into the cushion, making the bed springs squeak. He took a hand and situated it on top of Red's fallen one. The boy could feel his heart leap out of his chest, the proximity of the other overwhelmed him. His mouth opened but no words came out.

"Sh…" Ike shushed him and leaned in to place his forehead against the brunette's. "I'm here for you, Red. You're not alone."

He could very well feel the warmth of Ike's breathing on him, and the tickling of the other's hair touching his temples pretty much assured him that this was all real. Red shuddered at how close their bodies were.

"Ike…" He whispered, reaching a hand out to caress his face. It was so warm.

"Promise you'll stay with me Ike. Promise me you won't leave like everyone else did." Red begged softly. His hand drifted down the man's face, his fingertips stopped to trace his jaw bone. Continuing down to where the shirt collar popped open to expose the warrior's neck, the boy's thumb swept over the rough skin radiating with heat.

"Always." Ike murmured in his ear as he slipped an arm around Red's waist, pulling him closer to the boy.

The brunette lost his balance and fell backwards into the paddings of his bed. With a tug on the front folds of the cape, he brought Ike down onto the bed with him. Ike held himself on his elbows and knees, to prevent from squishing Red, who's build was comparably smaller than his. His body hovered over the younger boy's, his legs straddled the teen on either side.

Red still had a grip on the front of Ike's shirt and used it to pull him forward. Their noses touched, their breaths mingled, he could feel the room was heating up. He slowly closed his eyes and titled his head to the side, hoping Ike would follow up.

"Red, honey? Are you okay?"

The door to his room opened slightly, his mother could see that the lights were off. Her fingers fumbled for the light switch. When she found it and clicked it on, she heard a moan and saw her son sitting up, blinking away groggy eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, were you asleep? I was worried about you, since you went to bed so early. Is something matter honey? You can always tell your Mama Peach."

"I'm fine mom, it's nothing. Just a little tired today." He rubbed his eyes, his other arm still clutching his pillow.

"If you say so dear. Don't ever hesitate to come to me if you need anything, okay?" She smiled softly and turned to close the door. "Do you want the lights out? You can always go back to sleep."

"No, it's fine mom, it's still pretty early, I can always get some homework done."

His mother nodded and left him alone. Red didn't move from his spot on the bed. He still held the pillow in his hands. Holding the fluffy object tighter to his chest, he sank his nose into it. He lifted his tired eyes to peer over at his desk.

The present he received from his sister still stood there, next to his lamp, where he had last left it. His brown eyes lingered on the 5 inch figurine for a while before putting his face back into the pillow.

"Liar."

* * *

…That… that was pretty angsty. …And pretty whacky too. I mean, who thinks of these things? ...This one, I can explain. It was inspired by some KenshinxMisao fic I read a long time ago that was not finished. Something about a statue coming to life, and I thought that was pretty cool. Also, the concept worked well, since Smash Brothers has trophies and stuff. I was also thinking of that myth where the guy builds a perfect woman and Venus (Aphrodite? Was it even Venus?) brought the statue to life to be the man's lover. I thought it was a cool concept.

So… …This must have been the closest thing to actual romance that I have written for this pairing. Wow. They were _this_ close to a kiss. Hehe. My original plan was for them to go the whole way, or maybe half way, or, somewhere, because I was going to cut them off anyway, but then my conscience wouldn't let me write it. I hope it wasn't too awkward or creepy, how they started… getting touchy. …I think I would have been creeped out if one of my dolls came to life and started coming on to me. (I wouldn't mind if it was my Winli plush though. *pervyAtsukoplz*)

Who thinks that Red is going crazy? *cricket chrips* Perhaps, perhaps not, I'll leave it to you guys. ...It's not... weird to be talking to inanimate objects, is it? Not that I an vouch for that because I barely like talking to myself or in an empty room.

The idea of Peach being his mama came from one of RoseVoid's fics. I thought the idea of Mario and Peach being Red's parents was the most amazing thing ever. (I mean, then that crosses out my Red/Peach pairing, but, it wasn't very high on my pairing list anyway.) You know, Mario with the hat and brown hair and Peach being a sweetie pie. …I don't support Mario x Peach though.

So yeah! Two out of five done! This wasn't originally one of the three that I thought up, but I was looking through my old ideas and this was an AU, so it might as well fit in here, right? Quick update is quick, but this is a rare moment, who knows when the next one will be coming in.


	3. Mount Moon

I was actually working on a different AU before this one but this one came out faster. And I was stuck on the other one anyway. For this AU, it's pretty much evident where this world is, judging by the title of the chapter. See if you can spot out any cameos here. XP

Much thanks to my hasuko-neechan for beta-ing this boring piece of shit. And, yeah, read ahead guys, this is probably the longest one-shot I've ever written.

* * *

Deep in the depths of Mt. Moon, a shady figure sits alone. On closer inspection, the person is seen to be a young boy. The boy has light brown hidden behind a red cap with a matching red vest. The boy shifts his position on the boulders beneath him and looks up to the open sky where the mountain had possibly caved in long ago.

He rummages through his pockets and pulls out his Pokedex to check the time. It is already past midnight, but he doesn't worry. It's not like he has a bed time anyway. He just wonders if he will go home empty-handed tonight.

* * *

Pokemon Trainer Red sighed as loud as he could. He heard his sigh echo through the dark cavern walls. He asked himself mentally why he was doing this again. Brushing aside another rock, the trainer laughed triumphantly and plucked a Tiny Mushroom from where it hid. He placed it in the bag that Professor Oak had given to him made especially to preserve the mushrooms. Apparently the professor wanted to research Big and Tiny Mushrooms and compare them to the Paras and Parasect that dwelled in the area. He was also assigned to capture a sample or two of the bug/grass pokemon, but that came later.

His three pokemon, Charizard, Ivysaur and Squirtle, were out of their pokeballs helping him locate some of the valuable mushrooms. They stayed close in the case that a wild pokemon would come out to attack them or any form of danger reared its head.

"Any luck guys?" The trainer yelled.

Several roars and chimes of his pokemon came back in the sign of negative. Red sighed again and pulled off his cap to brush his hair back using his dusty fingers. He didn't mind too much that his hair was dirty and sweaty; he'd been through worse than this. He and his pokemon had already been at this for hours and he wondered if it was time to call it quits. Red looked into the bag, tsking at the sight of only two or maybe three Tiny Mushrooms.

"Next mushroom and we can call it quits, guys!"

A collective bunch of pokemon noises came back at him in confirmation. He picked up his bag and turned to walk a little farther into a part of Mt. Moon that he has yet to check on.

Just then, a blur of pink bumped into Red's leg. The trainer stopped to get a look at what he had just ran into and he realized it was a Clefairy. The pokemon shook itself out of its daze and gasped at the trainer that hovered over it.

"Hey, wait! Clefairy!"

Said pokemon and Red both turned to the direction of the voice. The fairy pokemon immediately got to its feet and fled in some direction after hearing footsteps fall closer. From the darkness emerged a young man waving a pokeball in his hand.

"Come back, Clefairy!"

As the other trainer got closer, Red could see in detail the other's dark blue hair held back in a black headband. The other trainer was also clad in a dark blue tunic with gold trimmings and two loose belts hanging off his waist. He wore light blue denim jeans with a rip near his right knee and a black band wrapped on the upper thigh of the left. The hand that held the pokeball was clothed with black fingerless gloves while the free hand remained bare.

"Damn, did you see a Clefairy run by here?"

"I think it went that way." Red pointed to the direction that he had seen the pokemon slink off to.

"Thank you so much." The other trainer replied hastily before rushing away.

Red stared at the retreating figure and shrugged it off. He experienced what it was like to search out rare pokemon and he knew it took a lot of patience and time. Shuffling back to the corners of the walls, he resumed his fungus hunt.

* * *

Professor Oak had been pleased with the mushrooms that Red and his pokemon had gathered. He was also glad for the few mushroom pokemon the trainer had captured for him. He better be satisfied, Red thought, we spent a week or so in Mt. Moon looking for those things. After dumping off the toadstools, he and his pokemon made their way back home to shower and perhaps relax.

As soon as he got home, his mother gave him a message for a missed call.

"Bill says he wants to talk to you about something dear. He says it's urgent."

Red waved to his mother and just walked back out the door. Well, this was kind of what he wanted, right? Challenging the Elite Four wasn't enough for him and there was nowhere else to explore and no other good trainers to battle. The next best thing to an adventure was the errands that the Pokemon Researchers usually assigned to him. He was also slowly building on that Pokedex, but it wasn't something he was in a rush to complete. It was better than nothing. At least that's what he kept telling himself.

* * *

"Great thing you're here Red! There's this fossil that I just received and I think the Pewter City Museum created a machine to resurrect the fossil pokemon! Isn't that amazing?"

Red nodded tiredly, only slightly interested in what the researcher told him. He made his way from his home town at Pallet all the way to Bill's house on bike. On the way there, he swerved into a Sandslash, which got angry for nearly running it over and trashed his bike in its fury. It was a good thing he was already near Cerulean City when it happened because then he had to walk his bike to the Bicycle Shop to get it repaired.

"I'd love to take it there to actually go see it being resurrected but I have a meeting with a colleague of mine in a few hours. Red, you wouldn't mind…"

"It's no problem Bill; I'd like to see the pokemon too."

"Oh gosh, thanks a lot Red! I wouldn't know what to do without you!"

The trainer nodded again. He really could just use Charizard to fly all the way to Pewter City and back but he didn't want to tire out his pokemon and he only used it in dire emergencies. It took a lot of energy out of his pokemon and they usually require around a day's rest afterwards. He honestly was curious about the pokemon that would come out of the fossil that Bill handed over to him, so it wasn't totally a favor that didn't benefit him.

As soon as he stepped out of Bill's laboratory, he just realized he was going to have to walk through all of Mount Moon and back. Slightly annoyed at himself, Red readjusted his back pack and trekked back to Cerulean City to get some more provisions for the long walk.

* * *

"Congratulations! It's an Aerodactyl! Would you like to rename it?"

Red shook his head and recalled the fossil pokemon back into its ball. Well, that was exciting, Red thought with not much enthusiasm. The next thing on his agenda was to report this to Bill. He had arrived at Pewter last night and was able to get to the museum earlier this morning. It took about half a day to run through Mount Moon by foot so if he left now, he should be able to get to Cerulean City a little before night fell.

On his way to Route 3, Red was hounded by that same kid that stopped him every time he passed through there. He barely broke a sweat against the youngster in shorts and hastily made his way to Route 4 before the kid could taunt him again. He wished that the people who asked for rematches actually worked a little harder before challenging him again, it felt more like a waste of time for both parties if he just beat them down that quickly.

The base of Mount Moon slowly became visible and Red sighed with relief. As soon as he was past the mountain, the sooner he could deliver the Aerodactyl to the researcher and check on his bike. Thank goodness for the Pokemon Center located right near the entrance of the mountain. Even for a seasoned traveler, hiking through caves did take a toll on him and he needed to brace himself for the trip to come. He hadn't stopped anywhere else at Pewter besides the Museum and the Center and now was a perfect time to restock.

When he entered the center, Red could hear someone arguing over to the side.

"Sir, I told you, I'm not interested in your Magikarp!"

"Oh, but you keep coming back to this center! Nobody stays here for so long unless you want something!"

From where Red was standing, he was able to see a young man only slightly older than him with dark blue hair arguing with a suspicious looking man in a trench coat and shades. He somewhat recalled how that man had asked him about a Magikarp back when he entered Mount Moon for the first time. He was almost convinced into buying the fish after being fed lies about how marvelous the pokemon was but Nurse Joy was able to detect the con-artist and had him taken away immediately.

"I have the perfect thing for catching Clefairy! This Moon Ball is great for catching pokemon that evolve with the Moon Stone! And what ho! Clefairy evolve with Moon Stones, do they not?"

The trainer looked a little reluctant but still debating when Red walked between them. Glaring at the man, Red pulled the "Moon Ball" out of his hands and rubbed at the moon shape.

"Ah, sir! What are you-"

No other words were said when the moon shape had been smudged, revealing bright red underneath it. The man realized his cover had been blown, snatched the painted pokeball and fled to the doors. The two trainers watched as he dropped several things in the process and picked them up pathetically.

"...Thank you for that. I actually was on the verge of taking his offer. If you hadn't stepped in I probably would have wasted my money."

Red nodded at the trainer. He looked again and something about the other clicked in his mind but he didn't think too hard about it. He proceeded to the counter where Nurse Joy had just returned from the back room leaving the spikey-haired teen on his own.

* * *

"Whoooooooooo!"

Red whooped into the air as his bike rolled down a hill on Route 4. After returning the fossil pokemon to researcher Bill, he went to check on his bike and found that it had been repaired and even upgraded! Oh the privileges of being the champion! The next thing he did was test it out in the outskirts of Cerulean City on his way home where he drove through the tall grass, not minding the dirt his wheels continuously kicked up.

Things were running smoothly until Red spotted a rock up ahead. He guided the handlebars to the side to avoid collision but then at the last minute he saw a flash of pink bounce across his vision. Before he could turn again or even hit the brakes, a jolt of electricity hit him and then everything went black.

* * *

When he woke up again, Red could tell it was night. The sky was already dark and the stars were out. He momentarily wondered where he was and what he was doing staring at the night sky. The crackling and popping of a campfire alerted him that there might have been someone else with him. He sat up quickly, hoping that he was not in danger and that nothing of his has been stolen.

"Whoa, you scared me! You're finally awake?"

At the sound of the voice, Red turned to see a somewhat familiar face. He recognized the spikey blue-haired trainer from the Pokemon Center on Route 4. He calmed down a bit after seeing that it was not a thug or a Team Rocket member that had been with him but he reached for his pokeballs on the side of his belt. To his relief, they were all there. Red could make out his yellow book bag resting not too far from his feet.

"Are you feeling okay? Nothing is broken, is it? I'm sorry about earlier, Rai's Thunder Wave attack wasn't meant for you."

Thunder Wave? At the mention of the electric-type move, Red recalled what happened before he went unconscious. He brought his hand to his head to make sure there were no physical injuries to his cranium. His fingers made a little static shock when it came in contact with his threads of hair but other than that he didn't feel anything potentially harmful.

"I hope you're not paralyzed or anything, I'm not sure if a Paralyze Heal would help."

"I'm fine, I think. No bleeding or woozy feeling, so it's all good."

The other trainer sighed a little in relief but rummaged through his bag to pull out something. He came over to Red's side and held out a small red fruit topped with a curled, green stalk.

"If you feel anything weird you should eat this. It's a Cheri Berry; it's supposed to heal paralysis." The trainer thought again. "Well, for pokemon anyway, but I'm sure it would work for humans too."

The brunette took the berry and silently thanked the trainer. He glanced at the other from where he sat and he could see that the trainer had blue eyes that matched the striking blue hair. The light of the campfire made the color look slightly orange in hue but Red was sure that he had seen this person outside of the Pokemon Center.

"Yeah, I'm sorry again for shocking you, especially after how you helped me out before."

"Don't worry about it; it was an accident, right?"

The trainer smiled apologetically and shrugged. "I was so caught up in catching that Clefairy I didn't realize there was someone coming down the road. I should have been more alert."

Red sweated a little. He actually wasn't really aware of his surroundings either when he went on that joy ride earlier, so perhaps he was also to blame for this mishap. The boy sat up to gather his belongings, feeling a bit awkward as he felt the other trainer's eyes on him.

"Sorry if I'm bothering you even more, but you're a pokemon trainer, right?"

"Yes, I'm a trainer." Red raised an eyebrow. It was a while since he was crowned the Champion of Kanto and it was almost rare that someone would not be able to recognize him.

"Do you have a Clefairy you can trade with me?" He asked vehemently. "…Never mind, forget I said that. I don't even know why I asked, it's not like I had anything I was willing to trade away." The other trainer scratched the back of his head.

"You seem to have an unhealthy obsession with Clefairy." Red laughed a little.

The other trainer let out a frustrated sigh, blowing away a few strands of hair that hung over his eyes.

"It's not like I'm obsessed with them, it's just that I need to catch one before the end of the month."

Now this struck Red as a little interesting. And here he thought this trainer was just another maniac with a fetish for cute pokemon.

"Care to tell why? Maybe there is something I can do about it?"

The blue haired trainer seemed surprise in Red's sudden interest in his story and quest. He looked a little warily at the brunette before bringing his attention to the campfire which seemed to glow brighter than before, probably due to the slowly darkening sky.

"Well, I need to catch a Clefairy for my sister's birthday. She's not a pokemon trainer and she has never had a pokemon of her own. She loves playing with the gym leader's Clefairy, so I figure I can get her a Clefairy of her own. I know she's been asking for one for a while."

Red wondered how true his story was since he cannot remember any of Kanto's gym leaders owning a Clefairy. But the stranger seemed genuine in confessing his tale and he had no reason to lie.

"There are no Clefairy in Johto, so I came all the way to Kanto to catch one. I've been here for a while but I've been nowhere near close to catching one."

"That was you at Mount Moon a week ago, wasn't it?" Red chimed up, suddenly remembering where else he had seen this trainer before.

The trainer chuckled lowly. "I guess? I can't remember how long I've been here already; the days are going by too quickly." The half-hearted smile left his face and was replaced with a serious look. "If I go back empty handed, what would I be able to tell Mist? I can't let her down again."

He didn't know if it was the dedication in the other trainer's voice that sparked his curiosity but Red felt as if he couldn't just sit and watch without participating now. He had nothing else on his agenda at the moment, and even if there was, that something else could wait.

"Hey, I said I can help you if you want. I'm somewhat familiar with these parts, and with another person, searching for a pokemon can go twice as fast."

"Are you sure? I mean, after I attacked you and all, I don't want to waste your time."

"I said I would help, and that was an accident, right? And if you really want to catch a Clefairy you better do it now, there's only have a week or so left till the end of the month. Come on, it's better than doing it alone."

Red held out his hand for the other trainer. After some mental debate, the trainer eventually took the brunette's hand to make the pact.

"I really appreciate this, thank you. And I'm honestly really glad that you're willing to help me." The trainer looked as if he was going to say something else, but he didn't.

"I'm Ike by the way." The trainer finally gave himself a name after releasing his hand from the brunette's.

"Red, nice to meet you."

* * *

"Ike, over there!"

"Rai, use Thunder Wave!"

"Chu!"

"Fairy!"

Ike pulled out a pokeball from his bag while his Raichu stood waiting for orders. The fairy pokemon was now paralyzed from the electric attack and its speed was lowered immensely.

"Rai, use a Quick Attack!"

The thunder mouse complied and quickly dashed to the Clefairy, knocking against it to take down its health by a little. Ike took the opportunity to throw the pokeball at the weakened pokemon. It wiggled twice before the pink fairy popped out and fled the scene.

"Ugh! Again?" Ike cried out in frustration.

Red shrugged and mentioned that there would be more chances to come later. It was the day after Red had agreed to help Ike with the Clefairy hunt and so far they had two Clefairy encounters. The chances of that happening were a lot more than what the brunette had imagined. From what Ike told him, his chances of spotting a Clefairy would be two in a week. Perhaps two heads really were better than one.

"Ike, it's around lunch time, you want to break before heading out again?"

The trainer nodded and went to pick up the discarded pokeball. His Raichu scurried over to Red and they started walking to their camp ground. They had set up base in an area close to the exit of Mount Moon in Route 4. Red suggested that they look around the tall grass during the day and enter the mountain at night.

"You know, Rai's Thunder Wave is a good tactic but do you have any other pokemon that can add status change to the Clefairy? Perhaps Sleep?"

"Well, Ryu has Yawn but that takes longer than a Thunder Wave and I don't know how long the Clefairy would stay for." Ike said as he pulled out two other pokeballs.

He let out the rest of his team, of which Red has never seen before. One was a white pokemon with a spikey head, a long neck, a round body with red and blue triangles and stubby wings. Its tiny arms and short legs gave it the impression that it was not good for physical battle. The other was a small dinosaur with dark green and rocky skin. It had a horn-like appendage sticking out of its head and a triangle of red on its belly. Its tail looked like a sprouting flower but had solid ridges. The pokemon also had a few black diamond patterns on its belly and a black mark streaking away from its piercing red eyes.

"Whoa, I've never seen these pokemon before…" Red pulled out his Pokedex to check on them but no data came up.

"Ryu is a Togetic; he evolved from a Togepi after it hatched from an egg. I found Rio abandoned in a street corner. He's a Larvitar. They're generally very secluded and pretty shy but this one is even more afraid of humans, so don't mind him if he doesn't seem very friendly. He's a good pokemon but you just have to get to know him."

Said Larvitar ran back to his trainer after Ike's speech and just glared at Red. The Togetic stood by Ike's leg and didn't say anything more. Rai the Raichu just laughed at his teammate's antics and continued to chow down on his meal.

"You said you weren't from around here right? You came from… Jo…. Johto?" Red tried to remember the name of the new region. "Are there a lot of new pokemon there?" His eyes glittered with the idea of meeting never before seen pokemon.

"Well, they're not new to me, but for someone who hasn't been there, sure. There are some pokemon I have never seen before when I got here, so it was kind of refreshing to see new species."

Ike hand fed his Larvitar who had made himself comfortable on the trainer's lap. Ryu the Togetic sat by Rai and took a pellet that the Raichu offered him. Red was still admiring Ike's pokemon when he remembered what they were supposed to be discussing.

"So besides the Yawn, does Larvitar have any useful moves?"

The brunette was a little startled by the glare of the rock skin pokemon. It was actually quite intimidating, even for a pokemon that was no bigger than his book bag. Perhaps the pokemon understood human speech and took Red's question as an implication that it was weak.

"I don't really use Rio in battle. He has Dark Pulse, Scary Face, Bite and Leer. If lowering Clefairy's Speed could do something…"

"Hm, so what about Togetic?"

"Ryu has Yawn, Metronome, Wish and Growl. I try not to use him for battle either…"

Red tried not to look disappointed but Ike could tell that the boy felt defeated.

"If you're wondering, I'm not really a pokemon trainer. Not an official one anyway. I don't do competitive battle and I try not to catch pokemon unless they're willing to come with me." He gestured over to the Raichu. "I found this guy at the Abandoned Power Plant on my way here to Mount Moon. He followed me and I guess we just agreed that we were going to be partners. Rai is probably my only attacking pokemon."

"Well, that makes things difficult." Red finally said. "I was hoping we'd be able to think of a new strategy with what we're given but I guess you already had that planned out…"

"How about your pokemon? If you don't mind me asking?"

Red reached for his three pokeballs and tossed them in the air. After the light disappeared, Ike was able to see that Red's team also consisted of three pokemon.

"Charizard, Ivysaur and Squirtle are all offensive, minus Squirtle's Withdraw attack. If Ivysaur maybe had Sleep Powder or something, then maybe we'd be some help to you, but sadly we don't. Sorry about that. "

Ike shook his head. "Don't worry about it, you're already helping me enough and I'm really grateful for that." He smiled at Red. "And just being there, I feel that I've gotten even closer to catching a Clefairy."

The brunette thought he must have interpreted Ike's words wrong but with the other smiling at him, Red couldn't help but feel his face burn a little. He coughed into his fist to hide his embarrassment and distracted himself with finding his pokemon's lunch.

"So, uh, I was thinking after this if we don't encounter another Clefairy, we should head into Mount Moon. Do you think camping inside the mountain is a bad idea or else we should switch up the plan and go inside during the day and search the grass at night?" Red suggested after obtaining his own lunch.

"We can try going into the mountain at tonight and maybe tomorrow just to try it. I think I have better luck inside the caves than outside and I think Clefairy come out more in the dark."

Ike had set Rio onto the space next to him to get his own lunch, despite the Larvitar's protest. Rai laughed again at the rock-skin pokemon and even Ryu couldn't hold back a chuckle. Red's Squirtle and Ivysaur were somewhat interested in what Ike's team were laughing at and spoke softly amongst themselves. Charizard just snorted at all of their childish behavior and resumed his meal.

Red grinned lightly at how the pokemon interacted. Usually Red traveled alone and he made very few friends. That in turn, his own pokemon made very few friends so it was nice to see that they were enjoying themselves with other pokemon. He was now very glad that he took up the offer to help Ike. At first it was just to help a stranger with his goal but he saw now that maybe he could also benefit from this.

Red stole a glance at the other trainer. Even if he was only slightly older than him, Red thought the other trainer looked much more mature. To cross countries just to capture a wild pokemon for his sister, Red wondered if he would have been able to do that. He must be really dedicated to have come all the way here, the brunette thought. The journey I've been on, everything I did, who was that for, myself? This person is someone intense, Red concluded, suddenly feeling much admiration for the trainer.

Ike was calmly tending to his own pokemon when he noticed that the brunette was looking over at him. He gave a small wave of his hand at Red then turned back to grooming Ryu's back with a brush. Red swallowed away the weird pitter patter feeling in his stomach but found that it wouldn't leave. He figured he was still hungry and grabbed another sandwich from his bag.

"We can leave whenever you're ready Red."

"S-sure Ike."

* * *

"Sheesh, you'd think that after being here so many times and knocking out all these Zubat that they would learn to leave us alone?"

Red could see that Ike and even Rai were more than slightly annoyed by the amount of weak pokemon they encountered. He didn't have much to complain about but with all the Zubat they encountered, they could be using that time to be locating Clefairy. Red had let out Charizard so they could use his flame tipped tail for lighting. Mount Moon wasn't too badly lit compared to the Rock Tunnel but more light was better if they were looking for something. How frustrating it would be if they allowed Clefairy to escape their vision just because there was not enough lighting!

"Ike, I think I saw something move over there." Red pointed out a giant boulder that laid not too far from the path.

"Okay Rai, get ready." Ike motioned to the group as they snuck up to the rock, a pokeball in hand.

The breath that the trainers didn't know they were holding was released after they saw that it was just a Geodude that had been hiding from them. Just as they were to laugh about the misleading encounter, Charizard alerted Red to a bouncing pink pokemon that happened upon them.

"Clefairy! Clefairy! Cle-" The star shaped pokemon paused in its jumping and stared at the group that stared back at it.

"Rai, use Thunder Wave!" Ike commanded, finally alert to what had just arrived on the scene.

The Raichu jumped to the front with its yellow cheeks sparking. Before the Thunder Wave got out, Clefairy let a soft melody slip through its lips. Rai's eyelids slowly drooped down and then he was asleep. Ike made a move to return Rai back into his pokeball when Charizard also collapsed to the floor in slumber. Next thing he knew, Red was slowly getting to his knees. Ike moved to catch the trainer before he fell forward but the Sing attack continued and even he began to feel lethargic. He silently cursed to himself wondering why he had not prepared for this. Not soon afterwards, Ike was also on the ground fast asleep.

* * *

"Well, that was a really bad idea." Ike announced the moment the whole team regained consciousness.

Red's mind was still a little blurry but he did remember what had happened. He saw that Charizard was slowly coming back to his senses and so was Rai, who was the farthest away at the moment. Ike had been sitting up in his sleep with his head bowed over, now resulting with a crick in his neck. Red had been leaning on Ike's shoulder, grabbing a hold of his shirt sleeve for support.

The brunette sat up with a jolt, suddenly realizing how inappropriately close he had gotten to the blue-haired teen. Ike didn't seem to have noticed Red's movement away and just focused on getting rid of the pain in his shoulders. What a horrible way to wake up and the Clefairy was gone too!

"I guess we have to form another plan. I didn't count on them knowing Sing. That just adds another thing we have to worry about. Along with keeping them on the battle field long enough and weakening them so that they don't flee, we also have to worry about not falling asleep. Is there anything else I should know about?"

"Well, one of Clefairy's main moves is Metronome. I guess we have to prepare for the worst if it ever has the chance to use that move." Red muttered as he checked through his Pokedex.

Charizard rolled around from where he lay on the ground, not entirely excited by the conversation. Rai waddled next to him, still a little tired from the Sing. Red noticed that neither pokemon looked prepared to enter another battle. Even he felt worn out from looking through half of Mount Moon's caverns.

"Ike, you think we should call it quits today?" The brunette asked, pointing to the two tired pokemon. He wasn't sure how long they had been out but they wouldn't be getting anywhere without their pokemon.

"I guess we should. We can just camp here? Is that even safe?"

"It shouldn't be a problem, as long as we're not in the main path… Or not in sight of anyone else. I think there was a little drop off area around here somewhere. Maybe we can settle there."

Ike nodded and picked up his stuff to get up. Red followed after and pulled out Charizard's ball.

"Charizard, you can go rest now. I think we can manage navigating without a little light."

The dragon looked wearily between his trainer and the spikey-haired other guy before he was sent back to his pokeball. Rai was also returned to his pokeball. The two trainers headed deeper into the cave lead by the younger brunette.

Ike followed as Red paced through the cave as though he were on his way to the park. He climbed up a level, helping the other trainer up and then they reached what looked like an exit to the cave. Ike could tell that they were still at Mt. Moon, but there was an opening above them that revealed the darkening night sky. He pulled out his PokeGear to check on the time. It was just about to turn eight.

Red turned around to see if Ike was still there. He saw the older teen fiddling with something that looked like a skinny Pokedex, or maybe it was a phone? The brunette waited for Ike to finish before they settled for a corner in the giant clearing.

"I guess we're settling early today, huh?"

"Yup, that just means we're getting up early tomorrow morning. With this open top, we're probably going to get up when the sun rises."

"Well then, see you in the morning Red."

"Good night Ike."

* * *

There was a shuffling of tiny feet and there was a lot of chanting and what sounded like singing. Red was pretty sure it was not time to wake up yet, there was no sun in the sky. He looked around and saw that Ike was still curled up in his bag not too far from him. He squinted through the darkness and saw beyond the clearing that there were many tiny figures moving in formation. The moon shone down on the small pond located in the center of the clearing and from there Red could make out reflections of pink star shaped pokemon. His eyes widened in recognition of the pokemon and he quickly made to wake up Ike as silently as possible.

"Pssst! Ike!"

The blue haired teen woke up without much work on Red's part. Ike sat up with the vigilance of a person who had been on watch duty for hours. He gave the brunette a look of question after he had been shushed by the younger boy. Red pointed at the group of Clefairy dancing around merrily and oblivious to the two trainers camping out right by their ritual spot.

"Is that…?"

"It looks like they're dancing. Is it some kind of performance or ceremony?"

Ike nodded and just continued to watch the bouncing pokemon. Red wondered if they should be getting ready for battle but seeing how joyfully the Clefairy danced, it felt wrong to just break into their natural habitat and steal one of them away from their homes. He figured Ike felt the same way as neither of them moved from their spot in the obscurity.

The Clefairy moved in counter clock-wise formation. They spun and jumped and danced and it was an overall cheerful event for the pokemon. For the watchers of the ceremony, they experienced the beauty of the mysterious dance. It was so surreal that left the both of them wondering if they were still asleep and just dreaming it all.

The chorus of Clefairy rang throughout the clearing and possibly echoed all through Mount Moon. The fairy pokemon seemed to all freeze in motion, creating such a photoesque scene. The pokemon all turned their attention to the center pond where the full moon's reflection shimmered brightly. All at once, the Clefairy raised their arms to the sky, pointing a finger out and then waving them back and forth in a hypnotic fashion.

"That looks like Metronome…" Red muttered more to himself.

"Do you think they will all perform the same move? Metronome is supposed to be random."

As if answering Ike's question, the Clefairy's waving arms moved faster and their fingers started to glow. The crowd of pokemon all pointed to the moon's reflection and from the sky came specks of glitter raining down. Several Clefairy in turn started to shine.

"They're… evolving? How is that possible? It looks like they all summoned a Moon Light attack."

"There must be bits of Moon Stone in the falling debris."

"Fable! Clefable!"

Now a mix of Clefairy and Clefable, the party of pink pokemon regrouped and rearranged themselves around the edges of the pond. From there, some of the fairy pokemon dispersed and that seemed to be the end of the festival.

The two trainers couldn't bring themselves to moving, as it would break the dream-like quality of the moment and send them back to reality. Time went on and the Clefairy and Clefable slowly parted ways. Ike's eyes never left the center of the pond, even if there was nothing there now but the ripples and a distorted image of the moon.

"Hey Ike." Red whispered. "Shouldn't we be getting back to sleep? We're going to have to wake up early tomorrow."

The blue haired teen nodded and made to gather his sleeping bag but Red could tell he still had his mind on the Clefairy dance. The brunette made his way to his own bag and shut his eyes to let rest come. Pink fairy pokemon danced behind his eyelids and he found sleep came very quickly.

* * *

"Eh? You're giving up?"

Red and Ike had gotten up the next morning and set up camp where they had their breakfast. The brunette was in the middle of tending to his own pokemon when Ike had announced his decision.

"But, isn't this the reason you came all the way here? What about your sister? I mean, we still have time if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not that. It's just…" Ike brushed back the hair hanging over his eyes. "It's just that, seeing them, the Clefairy yesterday… I don't think I can do it."

"I'm probably not in the right mind set of a trainer but I can't catch a pokemon if it's not willing to be caught. I can't imagine taking a pokemon away from its home, away from its family just for my own benefits. I know I'm doing this for Mist, but if it's going to be like that… I'm sure Mist would understand."

Red bit his lip. He understood what Ike was talking about, but that was just how the world worked, didn't it? Trainers catch pokemon and they help the trainers, right? Pokemon accepted their captures eventually, did they still mourn for their old lives? He patted Squirtle on the head, who happened to be sitting by his trainer at the moment. The tiny turtle pokemon looked up at the brunette with confused eyes.

"Well, it is your decision; I can't do anything about it. I just hoped you were able to fulfill your goal but if this is what you want..."

"Thank you Red, for helping me and being there. If I hadn't met you I would never have been able to witness what happened yesterday. It was truly a spectacular event."

"Ah." Red mindlessly agreed; his thoughts elsewhere.

* * *

The boy checks on the time again. It's been two hours since he last checked it. Pokemon Trainer Red continues to wait in the clearing of Mount Moon. A week or so has passed after the boy left the mountain after his failed mission with Ike. He wonders why he keeps coming back here. It wasn't like he needed anything here. That's what he keeps telling himself though.

Red wasn't sure what it was, but after the dropped mission, he feels like he lost something. He wasn't the one that wanted the Clefairy, so why does he feel so defeated? The trainer brings his knees up to his chest and places his chin on the arm slung over it.

Maybe he just wants closure. Something, anything. Ike left him hanging and maybe he expected something from the other trainer. Not that he wanted payment or anything, just, why did it have to end that way? There were so many things they could have done. They could have been... Dare he say it? Friends.

The trainer fiddles through the entries of his Pokedex. To pass time, he tells himself, but really he just wants to think of other things. The entry for a familiar pink fairy pokemon comes up.

"It is said that happiness will come to those who see a gathering of CLEFAIRY dancing under the full moon."

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the description. How odd, he doesn't feel very happy. He hasn't been for the past few days. He wonders if Ike is happy with whatever he is doing. How did that whole Clefairy incident with his sister go anyway? Red wishes he knew, even though it shouldn't bother him this much.

Something that sounds like a rock crumbles over the side. Red ignores it but then he hears the sound of something or someone coming. He spots a Raichu sniffing out something and then it notices him. The trainer thinks he recognizes the Raichu but then the pokemon yells excitedly to someone behind him and then he is sure that he knows this pokemon.

"I didn't think you would actually find your way back here. I'm surprised."

A very familiar spikey haired trainer with sharp blue hair and equally sharp blue eyes stands not too far from where Red sat. The brunette gets up from his spot and waits as the other closes the distance between them.

"I didn't expect you to be here." Ike smiles down at the brunette.

"Me neither." Red replies, confusing both trainers. "So why did you come back?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I guess I wanted to see you again."

Red knows that Ike probably meant it some other way but there is no stopping the pounding of his heart. Instead, he asks about his sister.

"Actually, as I was leaving Mount Moon, a Clefairy followed me all the way to Cerulean City. I didn't realize I had dropped my PokeGear until the Clefairy had brought it back to me. And you can figure out the rest from there."

"Wow, that's pretty cool. So it all ended well for you, huh?"

Ike pushes his hair back with his gloved hand. He looks up at the sky and he notices that he was at the same clearing he and Red had been a week or so ago.

"You think we will see the Clefairy dance again?" The older teen asks.

"Maybe. I'm not sure." Red doesn't tell him that he has been coming here every night to try to see them again.

"Red, I just want to say thank you again."

The brunette nods and starts to reply but a hand grabs his wrist and pulls him forward. He realizes he is standing incredibly close to the other trainer. The blush on his face darkens as he looks up to connect eyes with Ike.

"I…" The blue haired trainer starts. "A lot of good things have happened since the past week since I've met you. I can't think of any other reason why but… you're like… my good luck charm. I wasn't kidding when I said you brought me close to getting Clefairy. I think you attract pokemon. Among many other things."

Red doesn't have any words and just gapes like a Magikarp out of water. His heart is beating like crazy and his mouth is so dry. Is this what he was expecting? Was this what he was really waiting for? Only when Rai nudges at his leg does he realize what options he has.

"Ike." He can feel the corners of his lips turn upwards. "Can I… come with you? To Johto?"

The grip on his wrist slackens a little but only to travel down to his fingers. Red wraps his fingers in Ike's and gives it a slight squeeze. Both trainers understand what they want and then Red thinks, thank you, Clefairy.

* * *

That's it, I think? Wow, this story is a mess. ._. Despite being ridiculously long, did anything even _happen_ here? Was this even plausible romance? DX I don't even know. Rereading it all, it was incredibly boring. (Oh, and I haven't even gotten to Kanto in SS, so I don't know why I'm writing this now. I'm training for the Elite Four atm.)

Excuse all the weird tenses. The first part and the last part are supposed to be present tense and the middle and everything else is past tense. Yeah. Tenses.

Yes, I did just imply that Red defeated the Elite Four with just Charizard, Ivysaur and Squirtle. Shush. Then he became everybody's chore boy. He'll obtain Pikachu, Lapras/Espeon, and Snorlax at Johto, or something.

And Rio is such a little brat. He's all "Oh, Ike, I has no friends, oh woe is me. You're the only friend I has." I mean, that's what he would be saying if he could speak. Yeah. I don't even know why I kept typo-ing Togetic for Togekiss since I don't own either pokemon.

Oh right, speaking of Johto. So Red and Ike go to Johto where they settle at Goldenrod (where Ike lives alone with Mist) for a while. (Mist works at the flower shop next door to the gym and is friends with Whitney. Greil was hunted down by Team Rocket for some past experiment or other and now they're on their own.) Then Red decides he wants to compete at the Johto League and Ike lets him go. Red makes his way through Johto for the badges and is disappointed and even heart broken when he comes back to Goldenrod and Mist tells him that Ike left on some self-searching journey. (You know Ike, like the end of RD.) Red decides to go look for him all through Johto again and that is why he is stuck on the top of Mount Silver, waiting. Yuppers.

WAIT A MINUTE. Atsuko, wasn't there a pokemon episode similar to this plot? … Quiet fools! I don't watch every episode of Pokemon! Especially not episodes where fathers have to catch Jigglypuffs for their daughter's birthday! Nu-uh!

Next up, who knows, I want to get out my Dobutsu no Mori AU since the Fire Emblem one isn't working too well at all.


End file.
